Taxes and Stuff.

Or why people always blame taxes and the rich. Discourse on who is #1, and more ramblings.

Response to a friend's Facebook post.

DON'T people know? U.S. taxes are not the issue. Europe has higher income taxes (rich or poor). China has a higher corporate tax (25 percent to the U.S., 21 percent). Average wealth tax is around 1 percent or lower in Europe. Etc etcetera. 

       Yet what really is #1? Does it really matter? The U.S. is still #1 economy in the world. Refer to the strength of the dollar as global legal tender since Bretton Woods 1944. America's economic leverage got formidable or peerless at that point. The #1 stature is a complex discourse though. 

CHINA's major industries are state-owned (including Beijing's  5 world-leading banks). Most of the European Union have high taxes but many basic services are government-subsidized, free or affordable. The U.S., however, is also #1 in an absurd measure: Military spending, $825 billion and exponentially rising, and maintains over 750 military bases overseas. Overkill wastage.   

       Also, the U.S. is world's top consumer market, although its population size is 4x lesser than China and smaller in geography than Russia (#1 in total land area). 

CHINA's army size is the world's largest, of course, due to its human number but its military budget is only $209 billion with 1 military base overseas (in Djibouti). Russia's military budget is $75 billion with 21 military bases abroad. 

MEANWHILE, why do the U.S. insists on tossing billions of taxpayer money to the Ukraine war and Israel's obliteration of Gaza? The U.S. believes a longer war in Ukraine will deplete the Russian economy via more military spending and eventual lower export revenue. Wrong. Why?

       Russia has China, India and BRICS partners including new members Saudi Arabia, Iran and Egypt as major markets. Yet the US energy giants would probably take over Ukraine's massive resources, including natural gas and coal. 

       I don't think Russia is interested in occupying Ukraine but it wants continuous (oil/gas) route access to/in the Baltic Sea. 

A LONGER Gaza crisis means derailment of Middle East's trade diversification efforts and Chinese FDI implementation in the MENA region. 

       Note: Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt, UAE (and Ethiopia) have joined BRICS. Significantly, the Arab League will shudder (the bloc has accepted Syria back) and "arms for oil" bilateral deals with the U.S. will be back. (Top 5 arms makers are American corporations.) 

       But I don't think the region and BRICS are dumb to fall into President Biden's hawkish bait. Bad for business.

BY the way, U.S. external debt has spiked again. Top holders of U.S. debt: Japan and China. Figure that one out: Japan is the top FDI country in the U.S. but, contrary to what many think, China is not even a top 25 FDI nation in America. 

       Yet many are still blaming America's rich for the current U.S. (economic) woes? Fact is, U.S. billionaires somehow aid Washington keep up in geopolitical power play vs. its traditional rivals.

       Another major problem of America: Continually widening divide in society and legislature. Reason why, in a real sense, the United States isn't the world's most influential nation anymore. Weakened. The people are too grossly divided to fix a weakened leadership. 🏛🗽🏛

So You Want to Move to Asheville?

Previously posted on my Facebook page. Or written years ago.

SO you want to move to Asheville? Motivated to join The Last of the Hippie Tribe? Or thirsty for handcrafted beer? Or you read all these travel mag pitches about spiritual sweetness, healthy food living and happy, artsy people vibe? Let's see... Basics. Rent. The new normal in my city, according to Citizen-Times Asheville, is “living with roommates.” That is, if you are dependent on hourly wages in low-paying industries. 

       The average cost of renting a home or an apartment in Asheville climbed 7.6 percent from March 2015 through March 2016, the highest surge in North Carolina. The median rent for a two-bedroom unit has reached $1,180 a month, the highest in the state for that size among a set of 10 large North Carolina cities selected by Apartment List, a research outfit based in Frisco. Charlotte and Durham are second and third with respective median rents of $1,140 and $1,100 for a two-bedroom unit.

       So unless you are moving to the mountain with hefty savings and with a partner who equally got that blessing, then go. Adventure. If not, and you're one of those young starry-eyed lovers who'd profess to equinox moon, “I will support my sweetheart's art because I believe in love,” think again. Okay, maybe a job? Okay, here's some more info for you. The good news, sort of. Asheville has one of the state's lowest unemployment rates, and that’s been true for years, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Since 2005, the city's unemployment rate has been lower than state and national averages. Get it? But here's the kick. The bad news, sort of.

       Most of those jobs come in what we call, BYOJ or “Bring your own job.” For years, jobseekers have compared Asheville to some bad party, the kind where the host is broke and guests must bring their own PBRs and Trader Joe's wine. Sure, you know that BYOJ is cribbed from the party acronym BYOB, “bring your own beer.” So this means, you could either be a Trust Baby with moolah from mom and dad for an organic-only, gluten free ramen restaurant.   

 

       Or you got this job option called telecommuting—like working in the relative comfort of your house for some start-up firm in Napa Valley or e-product sales outfit in Macau. Pay is not good but at least you can work with your Mickey Mouse PJs as you gobble Krispy Kremes all you want while Facebooking, right? Major perk is you are not working for some One Percenter corporate jerk that you love attacking on your page. Your soul is saved. Money doesn't change everything, you know.

       Or you can actually work as a dreadlocked server (that's okay) or spa front desk clerk. A college degree? Come on, you are not a Yuppie! We got hundreds (or thousands) of restaurants here—all over downtown and Western North Carolina, actually. Tips are good. Bob Dylan loves The Orange Peel and President Obama digs 12 Bones Smokehouse. 

       The rich and famous love this town! Selfies with celebs and rock stars could be free, you know. So with those infos, think about it. I tell you thi, I am broke as ever. But I am still in Asheville—since winter of 1999, with two-year break (2007-09) in Los Angeles, to date. And I still got a helluva stock of ramens in the cupboard. Dig? 🙂🌄🙃

MORE BLAH: China and The Chinese.

Response to a friend's Facebook post.

CHINA and/or the Chinese. They are shrewd in the shadows. While America spends so much money in its involvement in (regional) wars and exponentially beefing up its military infrastructure and brags about it, China shows the world its economic/trade cunning and diligence albeit essentially quietly.

 

       Meanwhile, I agree the Kremlin under Vladimir Putin can easily be goaded into a war, but not the Chinese. They are all business. That's how they do “ battle” or engage in war. We don't know what's behind the Great Wall. 

       Hint: China is the world's #6 top oil producer but it is not selling its oil. Instead, Beijing is the world's top oil importer. Why is that? Figure it out.

       Also, today's top chemical element in microchip production is silicon. China produces 60+ percent of the global supply. The U.S. just invested billions$ in microchip manufacturing. Tie up with Taiwan's TSMC ($6.6 billion) and South Korea's Samsung ($6.4 billion) for factories in Texas + huge-ass tax incentives to local manufacturers. Apart from silicon, China is top producer (75 percent) of lithium. the chief mineral for EV battery..

       Weird thing is while President Biden sent Treasury chief Janet Yellen to China to convince the CCP not to flood the market of EVs, solar panels etc so it wouldn't affect much of America's new microchip investments, he keeps on throwing barbs at China. 

       In a recent meeting with Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Joe bragged that his meeting was all about "countering China." As though the Japanese buy it. They seem to for obvious reason: Japan is #1 top foreign investor in the U.S. so Mr Kishida is being smart. 

       China is still close behind the U.S. as Japan's top trade partner. And Japan is a member of the China-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), so far the largest trade bloc in history. Take note as well that the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has European powers Germany, The Netherlands, Austria, Norway and the UK as members. AIIB + China's 5 globally-leading state-owned banks are World Bank and International Monetary Fund's (IMF) counterpart. 🇺🇸☮️🇨🇳

Compilation of short MORNING THOUGHTS on Facebook.

Prayers are meditation. Mantra channeled to a personal God and into the individual—then shared to/with the rest. Prayers are quiet “chant” for the spirit, a motivation to get up and fix ills than it is an inspiration that, most of often, wallow in self-cuddling inertia. I worked with the religious who pro-actively aid/ed the needy in wars and disasters while they pray on downtime. We all confront personal mental crisis so we pray for strength—but we should also get up and rock `n roll the funk.✝️☯️☮️

Gift. Primal, prehistoric reflex. Before Lowe’s sold electric fireplaces, the warmth of a bonfire was a gift to weary winter travelers. Before Christmas wrappers were sold at Dollar Tree, special flowers adorned a basket of presents between tribes to symbolize peace. Gift is within, not without. Not consumer product because hearts don’t get traded. Love isn’t for sale. Gift is as is, not a word co-opted for coolness quotient; not a fodder for political caterwaul. Gift. 🌬💰🎁

On the comfy couch with the gadget, we rain the grieving world out there with emphatic drama. So we get depressed some more. On these pandemic times, our couch life prolongs—so the drama heightens. Towards dogs and cats. Many pet videos do drive me to laughter but now I see loads of heart-wrenching, chest-heavy memes and videos about pets. Look, if I own a ranch, I’d adapt 501 of them, okay? Quit the Oscar award tearfall! We love Arrow, Riley, and Cyd! Just love yours. 🐈😭🐕

A recent Citizen Times reported, based on a study, that Asheville is the “worst city” per standard of living in all of North Carolina. Years ago, my home city was adored as “best…” in multiple categories. Anyhow, before I left for the West Coast in 2007, I read a thick manuscript that detailed a plan for the city’s future. Sort of mark-up for Shangrila of sorts. I shrugged it off. I came back in 2009, and still here, in Candler. But I never had the zeal or interest in hangin’ out in town anymore.☮️☯️☮️

Memes. Uncool memes overpower cool memes. Of course, cool/uncool is a personal take. Most don’t really mind the meme as long as it’s “fun.” When we were in grade school, whatever “fun” we did was cool because our friends were laughing approvingly. Until mom or teacher told us, “Quit it!” We are now middle-aged or grandparents. But I notice AARP personages are back to tossing grade-school level fun or memes. Who are going to stop us? None. That’d be censorship. 🧐😂😟

Most of the prose that I share late at night were written years ago. Life changes and evolves so fast that we may not feel/think the way we did 5 or 15 years ago, right now. But it is still imperative to reread or revisit how we viewed the world then as we reflect our present life moving forward. Past and present are still us, the individual truth. We just adapt with a fast-changing universe. The only way to survive and keep existing. 📺⏰💻

Anti-racism is advocated—with fantastic zeal and super empathy—mostly by those who least experience them. That’s cool. But I get overwhelmed, then annoyed, by the drama. Racism is complex as discourse yet “easy to spot.” It is as straight-through as this person of different human design judging another dumb, idiot, or less educated just because they are of different human make. I get such brand of high-end ignorance from both Left and Right, all colors. 👲👩‍🦳👳‍♀️

“Komiks” are mass-produced reading fare in the Philippines. Serialized graphic novels, mostly. A favorite was “The Green Planet” by Jim Fernandez, circa 1970s. A "futuristic" feature about a divided world. Those who stuck to traditional ways of life, the poor, stayed out with nature. Those who pursued scientific living and adhered to new liberal thoughts, the rich, stayed inside a giant glass globe. Prophetic?☎️😒📲

The Japanese are a most interesting people. Friendly, hardworking, respectful. And good at sexual advice. When I was in Japan in the 1990s, I met an 80-year old fisherman in the small town of Ine. The AARP+Plus man was still very active fishing that time. Strong. I asked what’d be his secret. In broken English he revealed the power: “The Three S of Supreme Strength! Sake in the morning, sushi in the afternoon, and sex at night.” And I may rotate those, of course. Hai! 🍣🇯🇵🍣

Politics has always been my favorite query line since I was a boy. But dad or grandpa, instead of responding, told me to hush. It was natural curiosity, then it evolved into sheer thirst for knowing. So I pursued journalism that’d somehow give me professional license to ask and get responses. I am addicted to politics as a watcher/observer. Politics can be translated into comical interludes for fun, as well. Yet there’s a line between insult and criticism. Dig? 👈🙉👉

RECOMMENDED: Musical film. “Jesus Christ Superstar."

Musical drama, film and soundtrack. “Jesus Christ Superstar,” centers on the conflict between Judas and Jesus during the week of the crucifixion of Jesus. The original album versions were released in 1970 (U.K.) and 1971 (U.S.) The libretto was written by Tim Rice, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The 1973 film, based on the rock opera, was directed by Norman Jewison.

       Sure, Deep Purple’s Ian Gillan, who sang the original Jesus part in Britain, was more “rock” solid; who’d argue that? But Ted Neeley’s “imperfect” interpretation seems more apt to the pale, intense, but powerful voice of Jesus of Nazareth (per characterization as text) or the man on a mission behind the religious myth. Neeley’s rendition of "Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say)" wasn’t God howling but a trapped and beleaguered human being crying out for fair play. 

       "Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say)" is the apex of the entire opera. I am sorry, not the mawkish "I Don't Know How to Love Him" or the finale "Superstar,” performed by Yvonne Elliman and Carl Anderson with sentimental gusto and jazz/rock panache, givens. 

       The film easily invited criticism from a few religious groups for its “groovy, hippie-esque” retelling of The Greatest Story. But hey this is a welcome reading to me, which doesn’t diminish the spiritual impact of JC’s activism. Spunk isn’t sacrilege. The mod-pop glitter, “scandalous” sets that’d cut like insult? Nope. The wild dance sequences and the sensual bite vs Judas’ uptight groan of “Everything's Alright” was just alright with me. 

       I never fail to listen to both LP versions. And watch the movie. It doesn’t make me religious. Just on track of JC’s down-earth dissent. With some cool rock music, oh yeah. I first saw the movie in 1974 I think with my three of my high school buddies; yet each time I watch it (on DVD), it’d seem I am watching it the first time. 🎬🎭🎬